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Activator Update: Laughing Bees


Annie Brown - Owner of Laughing Bees

Expanding caramel candy empire with new machine









Annie Brown knows two things: Making candy and making people happy. Now, backed with a new machine, she plans on doing both even more in 2025 and beyond.


And it will be a little easier to make that happen thanks in part to a new candy making machine purchased via a grant from Main Street Ventures. 


TASTE MAKER


Founded in 2021, Laughing Bees is a company that specializes in products inspired by the insects behind its name: caramels, popcorn, krispies and other treats infused with honey. Laughing Bees operates out of Newport’s Incubator Kitchen Collective, a community-driven space where resources are pooled together to help entrepreneurs like Brown pursue their business dreams. While candy may be a sweet business taste-wise, it is still a business, which requires time, energy and perhaps most importantly, money. The latter is especially true when looking to expand a business as resources like new equipment can be both necessary and costly. 


In Brown’s case, one of those expenses was a product that would enable her to make candy quicker and in larger quantities: a Savage Bros. FireMixer-14 (FM-14) Temperature Controlled Cooker-Mixer System. “Developed with the artisan confectioners and entrepreneurs in mind,” the mixer can craft numerous confections including caramel, gummies, fudge, toffee and more. But given that the item is listed with a “request quote” button on Savage Bros. web site, one might expect that the cost of the device isn’t exactly cheap. 


Fortunately for Brown, working in a collective kitchen introduced her to numerous resources, one being Main Street Ventures’ leap grant funding program. Attending the Professional Manufacturing Confectioners Association conference in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Brown spoke with people who had used the device and witnessed it in action firsthand. That led to her applying for and receiving approximately $21,000 in the fall of 2023 to advance her business, primarily with the FireMixer-14. 


“Before, I was making, maybe, six pounds of caramels at a time. Now, I can make at least 12 pounds of caramel at a time, maybe a little more, in about half the amount of time it took me to make six pounds, so it's really increased my productivity,” she says. “This has really given me a jump start to think bigger than I would have without this machine about what my next step is going to be, how can I make sure I'm prepared for this coming year and more and more and more candies ... I want to expand the other products as well. When I achieve a goal, that opens all new possibilities that I didn't even dream of.”


THE SWEET TASTE OF SUCCESS


In the year since she received the mixer, Brown has seen her opportunities grow along with her business. That includes attending the University of Wisconsin’s Candy Basics, a course offered through its Department of Food Science. 


“It was intense,” Brown says. “The cool thing was there were a bunch of different people from Mars, Jelly Belly, Hershey, all different companies there. They told us bring samples, so every morning you walk in, there's a table full of candy.”


What’s next for Brown? Something sweet, no doubt ... And if her fellow entrepreneurs are looking to enjoy a similar path, she recommends reaching out to Main Street Ventures. 


“Main Street Ventures offers so much. I'm the kind of person who wants to take advantage of whatever is offered to me if it makes sense for me,” she says. “If there is a business that is a part of the Main Street Ventures family that feels like they're not, that Main Street doesn't have anything to offer them, it's because Main Street Ventures doesn't know what they need. Those business owners need to speak up because Main Street Ventures is very active in trying to meet our needs and making sure that they are offering programming that will help and benefit us.”


While the Main Street Ventures financial support is much appreciated, Activators like Brown also value the mentorship and connections available through the organization.


“It's a two-way street benefiting from what they're offering now but I’m also letting them know when they ask, ‘What do you want us to do? How can we make a program better?’ It’s really important to have a business like that because a lot of people think, oh, I'm going to make my own hours, be my own boss, etc.,” she says. “To have other people who have been there before you whether they're in the same business or not, they've been through the same journey or a similar journey. They can help guide you and help when you're feeling really down and like you're not getting anywhere. It's really nice to know that there are other people that have been through what you're going through and it’s possible to get past that.”









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